Category Archives: A word on Grammar

A Word on Grammar: on the corner or in the corner?

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That’s a question I’m often asked by my students and here’s the answer I offer them.

What kind of “corner” are you referring to? Is it the corner of a room or the corner of a street?

♥ If you are giving directions  to a shop, then you should say:

This shop is on the corner of High Street

♥ If you are saying that a person is sitting in a chair in a room, then:

Mary is sitting in a chair in the corner of the sitting-room.

Summarising: you use in, when the corner is inside and on, when the corner is outside.

Note: you can also say at the corner to refer to the corner of a street.

I’ll wait at the corner/ I’ll wait on the corner.

A word on Grammar: on the weekend or at the weekend?

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No wonder we sometimes get confused with prepositions. They are crazy to learn and frustrating to teach, iiiif they can be taught !

So, the question of whether you say at the weekend or on the weekend is not a question of being grammatically correct  but of  speaking American English or British English, being at the weekend (BrE) and on the weekend (AmE).

So, both are correct. My only tip is that you stick to either American or British. Nobody says Alo (as in Santo Domingo) when answering the phone in Spain, although we understand it.

A Word on Grammar:Reported Speech Questions and Orders

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Walking towards the end of the course we tend to feel rather stressed and pressed for time  and I’m not the exception. But I don’t really believe that an awful amount of time will be saved by not introducing new grammatical points in a nice way.

This is how I introduced Reported Speech Questions and Orders. This time it was the traditional way of teaching, ie, chalk and blackboard  and I’m not good at drawing so needless to say, my students had to use their imagination to guess that I was drawing a little girl and her mother.

The truth is I did little more than guiding them. My students named the characters and provided the questions. I only had to set the atmosphere -which was a four-year-old girl pestering her mother all day long with questions  -and from there, we had the husband coming back home and her mother complaining about their talkative daughter.

Grammar here, Exercises here ,here and here

Realizing they were learning and “sort of” enjoying themselves I continued with the story and went on to teach Orders and Requests in reported Speech, the girl being 15 years old in this context and, as it’s usually the case, the mother now pestering the girl to do things (I’ve got a 15-year-old son, as you have probably guessed)

Grammar here . Exercises here.

And now that we are on the subject, why not continue with the story and use it to introduce suggestions in reported speech?

A word on Grammar: Is there a difference between Can and Be able to?

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We use “able” especially in the structure be able +infinitive. This often has the same meaning as can. The negative form is unable.

  • Some people are able/can walk on their hands
  • I am unable/can’t understand what she wants

Can is preferred in the sense of “know how to” and in expressions, like can see, can hear..etc

  • Can you knit? / I can see a ship

Be able is used in cases where can is not grammatically possible (future/present perfect, conditional…)

One day scientists will be able to find a cure for cancer (NOT… will can find)

 

A Word on Grammar: The Same

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This has been the most common mistake in my students’ essays this term.

 Gays should have the same opportunities than heterosexual couples.

♥ We use the same as   or the same…+noun+ … as before a noun or pronoun.

Gays couples should have the same opportunities as heterosexual couples.

I’d like to visit Australia one day, just the same as you.

♥ We use the same that before a clause (subject+verb)

He was wearing the same clothes that he’d had on the day before.

I hope it helps you!